


to find rest in the leaves (obi-wan kenobi x reader)

by thespareoom



Category: Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Fluff, Grief/Mourning, Other, Please Give Obi-Wan a Break
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-10
Updated: 2020-11-10
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:48:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27481465
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thespareoom/pseuds/thespareoom
Summary: lost in the responsibility of a new Padawan, Obi-Wan asks you to help with Anakin’s training one afternoon
Relationships: Anakin Skywalker & You, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi/Reader, Obi-Wan Kenobi/You
Comments: 5
Kudos: 99





	to find rest in the leaves (obi-wan kenobi x reader)

Two months passed, whispered softly into the wild, trying not to disturb the delicate balance contained in the time that flew by without a trace. A simple trade dispute, exploded into war and tragedy, landed a hollow man on your doorstep, replacing the blossoming joy had existed before. You'd seen him only once since, the night he returned. He slipped into your quarters and made himself so small, not uttering a word but spilling his emotions out in tears that soaked your sheets. A hollow shell occupied the space he'd once held. A shell that looked and acted and talked like he did but contained nothing but emptiness and sorrow inside. Every day that passed, he looked a little more full, but dullness still colored the air around him.

A knock breaks the memories apart in your brain. Slowly, you pack away the emotions back into the safety of your chest, where your distress might not be perceived by those around you. The Temple lacked for so little, but privacy was scarce to find. The space to feel deeply never truly existed. Space to grieve for the Jedi who served as a secondary Master in your own training. Space to grieve for the Padawan who never really returned.

You gather your robes around yourself, pushing these thoughts to the side, and pad across the cool floor to answer the soft raps that have continued against the door. With the push of a button, the metal slides open to reveal a slightly disheveled Obi-Wan waiting, staring up at the arch of the doorframe. His hair sticks up on one side, his shirt slightly open, shifted towards his left shoulder, as if he just woke up from a nap moments ago. You reach out to him, gently adjusting the fabric back to its regular position. He takes your hand and presses his lips into the pads of your fingers, just for a second, before dropping them. His eyes, finally meeting your own, spark with a hint of brightness, but beyond that, there's a hollowness there that still feels foreign. 

"Please help me," he says after a moment. "I'm running out of ideas, and I don't know what to do with a kid." He smiles slightly, trying to play off the joke, but a hint of panic still flashes across his face as he murmurs through the request.

"What did you do yesterday?" you ask, leaning forward against the doorway. You watch him try to think, try to remember anything that happened before the last hour.

"We...." He falters for a moment. "We went to the archives. He got bored and almost knocked over a bust. Madame Jocasta Nu kicked us out."

"Well, yeah." You frown at him slightly. "He's ten, Obi. Did you like the archives when you were ten?"

He seems stumped for a moment, trying to remember his own childhood from the haze of memory. 

"Why don't we do some training today? Out in the courtyard?" The suggestion only seems to make him look more exhausted. "Come on. I'll help you. Don't worry."

He sends a message to Anakin to meet him in the courtyard as the two of you walk together across the Temple. The sun shines through the windows in bright beams, bathing the hallways in warm swaths of light. Just around the corner, the grand greenspace comes into view. Anakin squats in the middle of a large patch of grass, picking little flowers out of the grass and plucking their petals off as he waits. Obi-Wan immediately springs into teacher mode, giving instructions for the two styles of fighting they'll be working on. Anakin seems momentarily excited by the prospect of learning a style apart from his Master's, but the enthusiasm quickly dampers into intense focus as Obi-Wan begins putting him through drills.

You admire from afar the dedication Obi-Wan shows to his Padawan's learning, the deft skill he demonstrates despite his clear fatigue. The muscles in his forearms and stretching across his back contract as he parries with Anakin across the grass. You take over after a while, breaking down the mechanics of the motions that separate your own sword fighting from that of the styles he's already familiar with.

After a few hours of drills, Anakin lets out a groan and collapses into the grass. "Can we *please* take a break?" His limbs flop out like a starfish around him. You fall to the ground beside him, beckoning an exasperated Obi-Wan to the space on your other side. As soon as his back hits the ground, Anakin starts talking, about anything and everything that comes to his mind. He names all the colors he can see in the sky, exclaims over the colorful refraction of sunlight on the far wall, counts the blades of grass he pulls out of the ground. 

As Anakin rambles on, skin brushes softly across the back of your hand. You wind your fingers between Obi-Wan's and squeeze them gently, keeping your gaze on the sights the Anakin continues to point to. The birds flying overhead, the falling leaves, the shingle hanging off the edge of the roof. After a time, his stream of consciousness is interrupted by a snore off to the left. You look over to see Obi-Wan fast sleep, quiet noises escaping from the small space between his lips. Turning back towards Anakin, ready to crack a joke about his snoozing Master, you instead find his small face fixed in a frown. You flip onto your side, fully facing the boy.

"What's up?" He sighs and turns in your direction. 

"Master Kenobi always seems tired." His forehead bunches up in concentration, and he avoids your gaze at all costs. "I'm trying my best to not be a bother. I want to be a Jedi more than anything, but I don't want to be a burden on him."

You check over your shoulder to make sure Obi-Wan still sleeps before answering. His chest falls in a steady pattern, deeper and calmer that you've seen him in a long time. A smile tugs at the corner of your lips watching him, resting for even just a moment. You think carefully about the words Anakin most needs to hear before giving him your full attention again.

"It's nothing about you, Ani, I can promise you that." An ache in your chest spreads throughout your body looking at the dejected face of the young boy. "He's lost the most important person in his life without warning and gained a student in the process. It takes time to figure all that change out."

"But Master Yoda says grief is not-"

"I know." You can't help but interrupt the oft repeated line. "I know what the Code says. But emotions are not so easy as a rule would lead one to believe. Grief demands to be felt, whether it's allowed or not."

"How can you be so sure it's not me? That I'm not the problem?" His voice trails off near the end, barely wanting to give voice to the insecurity buried deep within him. 

"Anakin," You fix your eyes on his face, forcing him to meet your gaze. "Obi-Wan has been my best friend for as long as I've been alive. There is no one who knows him better. And I promise, his exhaustion has nothing to do with you. I've never seen him care for another person as much as he does you." As you speak, Obi-Wan stirs quietly behind you, moving a hand over to run his knuckles softly up and down your spine. "He's just dealing with a lot at once, unexpectedly so."

"Okay." A bit of the light returns to his face, his youthful optimism refusing to be shattered. He smiles tentatively. "Thanks for teaching me today. You're really good."

You crack a smile and give his shoulder a quick squeeze. "You'd better run before he wakes up and starts putting you through more drills." He leaps to his feet, taking any chance to get out of training, and speeds off towards the exit.

"Thank you," comes the murmur behind you. You roll over to face him, taking in the pain that colors every corner of his face. "He needed to hear that from someone." You cup a hand around his face, brushing your thumb across the smooth surface of his cheek, and he leans into the touch, if only for a moment.

"You'll figure it out, as time goes on." No words could wipe the wounds he tried to hide. "Try to ask for help more often, okay? You deserve a break."

He nods, agreeing to appease you, knowing he'll wake up tomorrow trying to take on the world alone again. But for today, he relaxes by your side, content for the moment, however fleeting it might be.


End file.
